So I had this crazy idea
Posted this in a couple of places. I have the Tamiya 1/32 P-51K kit, it comes with rocket tubes and the correct drop tanks to paint red. I always loved this box art that is loosely based on Arctic birds based in Keflavik. What if I made a model of a model? I loved the old chrome plated Hawk kits, I think it would look great.
Why not? It would look cool and building a model of a model is a good tie into a conversation. Ergo Hawk models and the history of...or
building a cool kit. Go for it. Wiki commons does list the 192 Squadron which was based in Iceland in the early fifties. With photos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:192nd_Fighter-Bomber_Squadron,_North_American_F-51D-25-NA_Mustang,_sn._44-73822.jpg
I love where your mind goes, Rob, must be from breathing all that JP-5 exhaust lol. It's a great idea.
LOL I have breathed my fair share. When folks get upset about wearing masks at work I just roll my eyes and think "You have NO idea"
Absolutely! All the c**p that we were exposed to, breathed in and bathed in. To say nothing of the JP smell sometimes in the showers on board ship.
I wonder if it was based on a test aircraft?
it was based on the typical half-researched model ideas of kits in the 1950s. The airplane is probably based on a photo of F-51s in Iceland or Alaska. However, the three-tube rockets were a "thing" only in 1944,
Looking forward to this build. Always thought the old chrome plated Hawk/Testors kits were neat, even if the idea didn't catch fire with modelers or other model companies.
Did you ever try to glue one together?
I built the U-2 years ago. The frustrating thing was destroying the chrome finish if you wanted to sand the seams!
Built the chrome plated Bearcat and remember having to scrape the edges of everything to get anything to stick...Said it was an idea, never said it was a GREAT one...But at that time that was the only 1/48 Bearcat around.
Looking forward to your build, Rob!
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
I would not call it "CRAZY" ... CURIOUSITY ... yes.
This box art, and the HAWK logo is a whole concept I thought I would never see again.
Upon seeing it, I was delighted, I love HAWK models, more so the chrome plated ones.
My personnel favorite of this type was the Bearcat, I loved the way the light would reflect off the cowling. The Thai markings made it more interesting. Then came their Freedom Fighter.
Thanks for the memory lane trip Rob.
Go on and build it Rob!
When you were young you would just build it and that was the fun of model making . Just build it and have fun.
I think Anthony nailed it. That's the spirit indeed!
It's your model. Go hard
I always wanted to do that. I thought I could repair the seam work with Alclad as they have highly polished aluminum as well as chrome.
Yeah I may just give it a go, I still have my Skyraider to finish though and as si my typical fashion I will change my mind about my next build 4-5 times before I actually do it!
I like your idea Rob, @robertandy
I have built the chrome plated Lysander and their Bearcat when I was a kid. If you didn't scrape the chrome away at the glue joint it wouldn't stay together. You also ended up with the chrome being damaged where the parts were connected to the plastic sprue. But overall they were very fun to build, and looked great when compared to the other kits I had wearing a brushed on bare metal finish back in the day.
I recently did build another chrome plated kit. It was a 1/48 MiG-15 bis, made by Tamiya. I ended up using bare metal foil to hide the flaws in the chrome once it was built.
I did the F-84, so many moons ago.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
For a long time this was the only 1/48 Thunderjet that was even close to accurate. Hawk was always overshadowed by Monogram, Revell and Aurora, probably even Lindberg, but they made pretty great kits. For the longest time if you wanted a 1/48 T-33, U-2 or OV-10 that was the only choice, Hawk and the Testors re-pops of them. The T-33 still holds up well, and I have seen some OV-10s that are amazing, and if you want a Vietnam era OV-10, I think Hawk still is the only game in town.
As ancient as it is the P-51 doesn't look to bad, It was re-released by Testors a while back. @robertandy.
I’m going to build a 1/72 Tamiya P-51D in the Canadian markings on that box top. Over the years, I have built seven or eight Hawk/ Testors mustangs. It’s one of my favorite nostalgic kits. At one time, I thought about doing a “what if” the 56th FG had used mustangs in their end of the war colors.
Brian Riedel